Removable electronics system for headworn articles

ABSTRACT

A microphone, transmitter, speaker, receiver, and power source, all mounted to an eyeglasses frame, for sending and receiving signals wirelessly to and from a remote cell phone or other electronic device. The microphone and the transmitter can be mounted to extension arms that can be extended, pivoted, or otherwise moved to a position for use, and then moved to a stored position when not in use. Alternatively, the microphone, transmitter, speaker, receiver, and power source, can be mounted onto a clip-on or other attachment member that mounts onto a conventional eyeglasses frame, or to a hat or other article worn on the head.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/336,872, filed Jul. 21, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/923,133, filed Jun. 20, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.8,787,970, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/220,517, filed Aug. 29, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,473,004, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/859,162, filed Aug. 18,2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,156, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/418,154, filed May 3, 2006, abandoned, which isa continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/371,692, filed Mar. 9,2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,038, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/888,280, filed Jun. 21, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.7,013,009, which are all incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to wearable audio communication devices and, moreparticularly, to eyeglasses with wireless audio communication featuresfor remote use of a cell phone or other electronic device.

Description of the Related Art

Technological advances in the telecommunications and computer-relatedindustries have provided cell phones, web phones, personal digitalassistants (PDA's), hand held computers, lap tops, and other portabledevices that allow for instant communication and access to information.These portable devices provide the benefit of allowing people to beconnected wherever they are. A drawback to the use of cell phones,however, is that speaking on a cell phone can be a disturbance tobystanders. This is especially the case in public and other places whereothers generally do not want to be disturbed, such as restaurants,theaters, churches, and so forth. Similarly, using PDA's, laptops, etc.with capabilities for voice recognition and/or accessing and playingmusic or other audio can be an annoyance to others. Additionally,holding a cell phone to one's head while driving an automobile can beunsafe because the driver has only one hand available to operate thevehicle. Furthermore, holding a cell phone can be difficult or at leasta distraction in many other situations, such as while typing on akeyboard, walking down a street or in a mall with one's hands full,while riding a bike, and so forth.

In order to provide an easier, safer, and quieter way to speak on a cellphone, there have been developed hands-free headsets with microphonesand speakers connected by wires or wirelessly to a phone. These headsetsenable the wearer to park their cell phone on their belt or elsewhere,and to have a conversation on their cell phone by speaking and listeningvia the headset. However, such headsets are typically donned and removedeach time the cell phone is used, which can be a significantinconvenience. Also, such headsets must be stored somewhere when theyare removed and not in use, making it more likely that the user willforget them, break them, or be further inconvenienced by carrying a casefor them.

Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a wearable audiocommunication device for remote use of a cell phone or other electronicdevice, that permits the user to easily, safely, and quietly communicateusing the cell phone while engaged in another activity, without the userhaving to hold the cell phone in his hand, and without the inconvenienceof carrying around an extra headset device, donning the headset to makeor receive a call, and removing and storing the headset afterward.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention fulfills these and other needs by providingwearable communications devices for sending and receiving signalswirelessly to and from a remote cell phone or other electronic device.Generally described, the invention comprises an eyeglasses device havingan eyeglasses frame and having a microphone, a transmitter, a speaker, areceiver, and a power source connected together and mounted to theframe. Whenever a user has on the eyeglasses, he can converse over thecell phone privately, easily, and in a hands-free manner. Particularlyfor people who wear prescription glasses, the invention provides a greatconvenience, as they will often or most always be wearing their glasses.Thus, users can have private, hand-free conversations on their cellphones, without having to put on a headset, and afterward remove, store,and carry the headset.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the eyeglasses frame has alens holder and two support arms, and the microphone is directional andcoupled to the lens holder (or one of the support arms) and orientedtoward a user's mouth. The transmitter communicates by wires orotherwise with the microphone, and sends signals wirelessly (such as byradio frequency) to the cell phone. One (or more) speakers are coupledto one (or more) of the support arms and positioned adjacent to theuser's ear. The receiver communicates by wires or otherwise with thespeaker, and receives signals from the cell phone. The power source iselectrically connected to the transmitter and to the receiver forproviding the power needed to operate them.

Alternative embodiments additionally have pivotal, telescopic, and/orother extension arms for the microphone and/or the speaker. Theseembodiments allow the microphone and/or speaker to be extended, pivoted,or otherwise moved to a position for ease of use, and then retracted,pivoted, or otherwise moved to a stored position out of the way when notin use.

Additional alternative embodiments provide wearable communicationdevices with a clip-on member (instead of an eyeglasses frame) thatmounts to a pair of conventional eyeglasses. Similar to the aboveembodiments, these have a microphone, a transmitter, a receiver, aspeaker, and a power source, all mounted to the clip-on member. Theseembodiments permit retrofitting the wearable device onto a user'scurrent glasses so that it is not necessary to go out a buy a new pairof glasses. Also, the user can easily change the wearable device fromone pair of glasses to another.

In one of these embodiments, the clip-on member comprises a conventionalclip-on lens holder of the type that is commonly used for clippingtinted sunglasses lenses onto regular prescription glass frames. Inother of these embodiments, the clip-on member comprises a frame orsheet with a clip for removably mounting to the support arm of theeyeglasses frame. The microphone and speaker can be mounted directlyonto the clip-on member in a spaced apart arrangement, or they can bemounted on extension arms that can be extended, pivoted, or otherwisemoved to a position for use, and then moved to a stored position whennot in use.

Further alternative embodiments provide wearable communication deviceswith a frame in the form of a hat, headband, earmuffs, or anotherarticle that can be worn on a user's head. Similar to the aboveembodiments, these have a microphone, a transmitter, a receiver, aspeaker, and a power source, all mounted to the frame. These embodimentsprovided similar benefits, for instance, a user can wear a hat and usethe communications features to conveniently and privately communicate onhis or her cell phone.

The specific techniques and structures employed by the invention toimprove over the drawbacks of the prior systems and accomplish theadvantages described above will become apparent from the followingdetailed description of the embodiments of the invention and theappended drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of theeyeglasses of the present invention in use with a cell phone.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1,showing an eyeglasses frame with a microphone and a speaker.

FIG. 3 is a perspective detail view of a first alternative embodiment ofthe present invention, showing the microphone on a telescopic arm.

FIG. 4 is a perspective detail view of a second alternative embodiment,showing the microphone on a pivotal arm coupled to a lens holder.

FIG. 5 is a perspective detail view of a third alternative embodiment,showing the microphone on a pivotal arm coupled to a support arm.

FIG. 6 is a perspective detail view of a fourth alternative embodiment,showing the speaker on a pivotal arm coupled to the support arm.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fifth alternative embodiment, showinga clip-on lens holder with a microphone and a speaker.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sixth alternative embodiment, showinga clip-on frame member with a microphone and a speaker attached to theframe member.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a seventh alternative embodiment,showing a clip-on sheet member with a built-in microphone and a built-inspeaker.

FIG. 10 is a side view of an eighth alternative embodiment, showing ahat with a built-in microphone and a built-in speaker.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a ninth alternative embodiment, showinga headband with a built-in microphone and a built-in speaker.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention may be embodied in eyeglasses with communicationfeatures for sending and receiving signals wirelessly to and from anelectronic device such as a cell phone. FIG. 1 shows one suchembodiment, referred to as the eyeglasses 10, in use with a cell phone32. The eyeglasses 10 have a microphone 20, a transmitter 22, a speaker24, a receiver 28, and a power source 30, all mounted onto an eyeglassesframe 12. The microphone 20 receives sound from the user's mouth (orfrom the user clapping or otherwise making a sound) and converts thesound into a signal representing the sound, and the transmitter 22 sendsthe signal to the cell phone 32. The cell phone 32 in turn transmits thesignal to another cell phone 34 or other electronic device. Similarly,the receiver 28 receives a signal representing a sound from the othercell phone 34, and sends the signal to the speaker 24. The speaker 28then converts the signal to an audible sound to be heard by one or bothof the user's ears.

Thus, the user can converse over the cell phone 32 privately, easily,and in a hands-free manner whenever he has on the eyeglasses 10. Forexample, the eyeglasses 10 can have prescription lenses, and for aperson that wears his glasses much of the time, the communicationfeatures of the eyeglasses 10 will be readily available for use much ofthe time. Thus, the user can simply put on his eyeglasses 10 in themorning and take them off at night, as he normally does with his regularglasses, and wear his cell phone 32 on his belt, carry it in a purse orbag, or otherwise carry the cell phone remotely from the eyeglasses 10.In this manner, the user can converse on his cell phone 32 anytime andanywhere, privately, without disturbing bystanders.

Also, when wearing the eyeglasses 10, the user need not don and remove aheadset every time he makes or receives a call, and need not store andcarry the headset in a case or the like. Additionally, because theeyeglasses 10 provide for hands-free communication over the cell phone32, the user can simultaneously converse on the cell phone 32 whileengaging in another activity such as typing on a keyboard, driving,biking, mowing the lawn, eating, etc. Of course, the eyeglasses 10 canbe alternatively provided as sun glasses or mere fashion glasses (withzero power lenses), to provide the convenience of the readily availablecommunication features described above.

It will be understood that the cell phone 32 may need to be adapted forsending and receiving signals wirelessly to and from the eyeglasses 10.Such adaptations are known in the art, and can be readily made toprovide a cell phone or other electronic device that cooperativelyfunctions with the eyeglasses 10 as described herein. Also, theeyeglasses 10 and the cell phone 32 can be adapted for sending andreceiving visual images to and from each other, and/or for sending andreceiving data in other forms. Additionally, the eyeglasses 10 and/orthe cell phone 32 can include encryption software providing for securetransmissions to and/or from each other. Furthermore, the eyeglasses 10also can be used to communicate with web phones, conventional land linephones, PDA's, laptops, hand held computers, personal computers,household appliances, portable or stationary televisions, portable orstationary radios, compact disc players, tape players, or the like,and/or other electronic devices with capabilities for voice recognitionand/or for accessing and playing music or other sounds.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the eyeglasses 10 of the presentinvention, with the eyeglasses frame 12 comprising a lens holder 14 withlenses 16, and two support arms 18 that extend over and are supported bya user's ears. The eyeglasses frame 12 can be provided by conventionaleyeglass frames made of metal, plastic, or another material, having anyof a variety of shapes, as is well known in the art. The lenses 16 canbe provided by prescription lenses, tinted sunglasses lenses, acombination thereof, or zero power lenses, or no lenses can be provided,as may be desired. While the eyeglasses 10 are typically provided withtwo lenses and two support arms, it will be understood that theeyeglasses alternatively can be provided by a monocle.

The microphone 20 is mounted to the eyeglasses frame 12 for receivingsounds from the user's mouth to be transmitted to the cell phone. Themicrophone 20 can be provided by a conventional miniature microphonethat is embedded into the frame 12. Also, the microphone 20 can beoriented toward the user's mouth and can be directional so that it picksup the user's voice when wearing the eyeglasses 10, but does not pick upas much ambient sound. Although one microphone 20 is shown mounted tothe lens holder 14, alternatively, it can be mounted to the one of thesupport arms 18, and/or two or another number of microphones can beprovided. Thus, the eyeglasses 10 can be provided with two directionalmicrophones, each oriented toward user's mouth when wearing theeyeglasses, and each positioned on a lower portion of one of the twoloops forming the lens holder 14. Also, a sensitivity control can beprovided for adjusting the level of sound that the microphone 20 picksup.

The transmitter 22 is mounted to the eyeglasses frame 12 andcommunicates with the microphone 20 by wire, optic fiber, wirelessly, orotherwise. The transmitter 22 can be of a conventional miniature typethat is configured to send signals to the cell phone. For example, thetransmitter 22 can be configured with BLUETOOTH or other software forwireless transmission of radio signals or another frequency audio orother signals to the cell phone.

The speaker 24 is mounted to the eyeglasses frame 12 for playing soundsto be heard by the user's ear. The speaker 24 can be provided by aconventional miniature speaker that is embedded into the frame 12. Also,the speaker 24 can be oriented toward the user's ear and can bedirectional so that it plays sounds toward the user's ear but does notplay sounds that can be easily heard by bystanders. For example, thespeaker 24 can be a conventional miniature bone-type speaker that ismounted on an ear rest 26 of one of the support arms 18 generallyadjacent to the user's ear when wearing the eyeglasses 10. Although onespeaker 24 is shown mounted to the ear rest 26, alternatively, it can bemounted to another portion of one of the support arms 18 or to the lensholder 14. Also, two or anther number of speakers can be provided forproducing stereo, quadraphonic, or other sound. Also, a volume controlcan be provided for adjusting the level of sound that the speaker 24plays.

The receiver 28 is mounted to the eyeglasses frame 12 and communicateswith the speaker 24 by wire, optic fiber, wirelessly, or otherwise. Thereceiver 28 can be of a conventional miniature type that is configuredto receive signals from the cell phone. For example, the receiver 28 canbe configured with BLUETOOTH or other software for wireless reception ofradio signals or another frequency audio or other signals from the cellphone.

The power source 30 is mounted to the eyeglasses frame 12 andelectrically connected by a wire to the transmitter 22 and the receiver28. The power source 30 provides the power to operate the transmitter 22and the receiver 28. For example, the power source 30 can be provided byone or another number of batteries that screw into a receptacle in theframe 12. Alternatively, other portable power sources can be used, suchas conventional batteries, photovoltaic cells, combinations thereof, andso forth. Controls can be provided for automatically shutting off thedevice after a predetermined period of time and automatically turning onthe device upon reception of a signal from the cell phone, and a manualon/off switch and/or a low power indicator can be provided.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the transmitter22, receiver 28, and power source 30 can be selected to provide lowpower, short range signals, so as not to interfere with signals to andfrom other devices in the vicinity of the user. However, thesecomponents are also selected to provide signals strong enough fortransmission and reception between the eyeglasses 10 on the user's headand the cell phone 32 disposed remotely from the eyeglasses, such as onthe user's belt, carrying bag or purse, etc. Also, the transmitter 22and the receiver 28 can have optics for receiving infrared signals,instead of or in addition to radio frequency signals.

Additionally, the transmitter 22, receiver 28, and/or battery 30 can beprovided as separate components or as a single component with a singleantenna, mounted to the eyeglasses frame 12 at another position selectedfor ease of manufacturing. Also, the wires connecting the microphone 20to the transmitter 22, the receiver 28 to the speaker 24, and/or thebattery 30 to the transmitter 22 and the receiver 28, can be embeddedinto or mounted onto the frame 12. Furthermore, the microphone 20,transmitter 22, receiver 28, speaker 24, and/or battery 30 can beprovided as a retrofit kit, with each component having clips formounting onto a conventional eyeglasses frame, with the wires notintegral to but instead routable along the frame. Additionally oralternatively, one or more wires with connectors can be provided thatconnect the eyeglasses and the cell phone, as may be desired.

FIG. 3 shows a first alternative embodiment 110 of the presentinvention, with the microphone 120 attached to a telescopic extensionarm 136 that retracts into the lens holder 114 or another part of theeyeglasses frame 112. FIG. 4 shows a second alternative embodiment 210,with the microphone 220 attached to a pivotal extension arm 238 that ispivotally connected to the lens holder 214. Such an extension arm 238can be curved to conform to the shape of the lens holder 214. FIG. 5shows a third alternative embodiment 310, with the microphone 320attached to a pivotal extension arm 340 that is pivotally connected tothe corresponding support arm 318. Such an extension arm 340 can begenerally linear to conform to the shape of the corresponding supportarm 318.

In these alternative embodiments, the microphone can be extended,pivoted, or otherwise moved into a first position when needed for use,and retracted, pivoted, or otherwise moved to a second non-obtrusiveposition when not needed. Also, the extension arm can be generally rigidor flexible, with or without a telescopic, pivotal, or other connectionto the eyeglasses frame, as may be desired.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth alternative embodiment 410 of the presentinvention, with the speaker 424 attached to a pivotal extension arm 442that is pivotally connected to one of the support arms 418. Of course,the extension arm can be telescopic, generally rigid, or generallyflexible, as may be desired. In this alternative embodiment, the speaker424 can be extended, pivoted, or otherwise moved into a first positionwhen needed for use, and retracted, pivoted, or otherwise moved to asecond non-obtrusive position when not needed.

FIGS. 7-9 show additional alternative embodiments of the presentinvention. In these embodiments, instead of the communication componentsbeing mounted directly to the eyeglasses, there is provided anattachment member having at least one connector that permits removablymounting the member onto a conventional eyeglasses frame. The connectoris provided by a clip, though another mounting structure can be used asdesired, such as a hook, snap, screw, or slide. The communicationcomponents (including the transmitter, the receiver, and the powersource) are mounted to the clip-on member so that they can be readilyutilized when the clip-on member is mounted to the user's glasses.Accordingly, the user can selectively mount the clip-on member ondifferent pairs of glasses, as may be desired where the user hasseparate prescription and sun glasses, has multiple glasses that shewears depending on the mood and the occasion, purchases new eyeglasses,etc.

For example, FIG. 7 shows a fifth alternative embodiment 510 with theattachment member provided by a conventional clip-on lens holder 544 andthe connector provided by two (or another number) of clips 546 formounting onto the lens holder of a conventional eyeglasses frame 500.The microphone 520 and the speaker 524 are mounted to the lens holder544. The speaker 524 is connected to the lens holder 544 by a pivotalextension arm 548 or by another extension arm, and the microphone can beembedded or otherwise attached to the clip-on lens holder.

FIG. 8 shows a sixth alternative embodiment 610 with the attachmentmember provided by a frame 650 and the connector provided by a clip 651formed by a bent section of the frame 650, for mounting onto one of thesupport arms of a conventional eyeglasses frame 600. The microphone 620and the speaker 624 are attached to the clip frame 650, with themicrophone 620 attached by a pivotal and/or telescopic extension arm 652or other extension arm, and the speaker 624 attached by a pivotalextension arm 654 or other extension arm.

FIG. 9 shows a seventh alternative embodiment 710 with the attachmentmember provided by a sheet 756 and the connector provided by a clip 758formed by a bent section of the sheet 756 for mounting onto one of thesupport arms of a conventional eyeglasses frame. The microphone 720 andthe speaker 724 are built into the sheet 756 at spaced apart positions,and are directional and oriented towards the user's mouth and ear,respectively, when wearing the clip-on attachment member on glasses. Ofcourse, the devices of the sixth and seventh alternative embodimentscould be used with devices other than eyeglasses, such as hats, visors,headbands, and so forth.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show further alternative embodiments of the presentinvention. In these embodiments, the communication components aremounted to articles that users commonly wear on their head for fashion,warmth, or other reasons. The microphone is directional and orientedtoward the user's mouth, and the speaker is disposed adjacent to andoriented toward the user's ear, thereby permitting the user toconveniently and privately communicate on his or her cell phone.

In particular, FIG. 10 shows an eighth alternative embodiment 810comprising a hat that forms a frame 850, with the microphone 820 and thespeaker 824 attached to the frame 850 by pivotal, telescopic, static, orother extension arms 852 and 854, respectively. Similarly, FIG. 11 showsa ninth alternative embodiment 910 comprising a headband that forms aframe 950, with the microphone 920 and the speaker 924 attached to theframe 950 by pivotal, telescopic, static, or other extension arms 952and 954, respectively.

It will be understood that the term “hat” as used herein means anystructure that is typically worn on a person's head, including abaseball cap, cowboy hat, motorcycle or sports helmet, visor, derby,bonnet, panama, sun hat, beret, tam-o'-shanter, yarmulke, beenie,fedora, and so forth. It will be further understood that, in addition tohats, the communication features can be provided on any other articleworn on a person's head, such as earmuffs, ski masks, hoods on jackets,and so forth.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that present inventionprovides several wearable audio communication devices for remotely usinga cell phone or other electronic device, that permit the user to easily,safely, and privately communicate using the cell phone, even whileengaged in another activity. Furthermore, the devices provided by theinvention obviate the need for the user to hold the cell phone in hishand to use the phone, or to carry around, put on, and remove a headsetdevice to use the phone privately and hands-free.

While certain embodiments are described above with particularity, theseshould not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention. Itshould be understood, therefore, that the foregoing relates only toexemplary embodiments of the present invention, and that numerouschanges may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the following claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A removable electronics system for a headwornarticle, the removable electronics system comprising: at least oneelectronics module configured to be removably mounted to a plurality ofheadworn articles, the at least one electronics module having at leastone of: a receiver configured to wirelessly receive incoming signals, atransmitter configured to wireless transmit outgoing signals, a powersource, and a user communication component configured to communicate toa user; at least one connector configured to: permit the at least oneelectronics module to be removably mounted to an eyeglass, and permitthe at least one electronics module to be removably mounted to a helmet,and at least one electrical conductor configured to be embedded into ormounted onto the eyeglass and/or the helmet, the at least one electricalconductor configured to electronically couple with the at least oneelectronics module.
 22. The removable electronics system of claim 21,further comprising at least one of the eyeglass and the helmet.
 23. Theremovable electronics system of claim 21, wherein the at least oneconnector comprises at least one of a clip, a hook, and a snap.
 24. Theremovable electronics system of claim 21, wherein the removableelectronics system comprises a plurality of electronics modules.
 25. Theremovable electronics system of claim 24, wherein each of theelectronics modules are configured to be separately mountable.
 26. Theremovable electronics system of claim 24, wherein the at least oneelectrical conductor is configured to electrically couple at least twoelectronic modules.
 27. The removable electronics system of claim 21,wherein the user communication component comprises at least one of aspeaker and a microphone.
 28. The removable electronics system of claim21, wherein at least one of the incoming and outgoing signals compriseimages.
 29. A removable electronics system for a headworn article, theremovable electronics system comprising: at least one electronics moduleconfigured to be removably mounted to a plurality of headworn articles,the at least one electronics module having at least one of: a receiverconfigured to wirelessly receive incoming signals, a transmitterconfigured to wireless transmit outgoing signals, a power source, and auser communication component configured to communicate to a user; atleast one connector configured to: permit the at least one electronicsmodule to be removably mounted to a first type of headworn article; andpermit the at least one electronics module to be removably mounted to asecond type of headworn article.
 30. The removable electronics system ofclaim 29, further comprising at least one of the plurality of headwornarticles.
 31. The removable electronics system of claim 29, wherein theplurality of headworn articles comprises an eyeglass and a helmet. 32.The removable electronics system of claim 29, wherein the at least oneconnector comprises at least one of a clip, a hook, and a snap.
 33. Theremovable electronics system of claim 29, wherein the removableelectronics system comprises a plurality of electronics modules.
 34. Theremovable electronics system of claim 33, wherein each of theelectronics modules are configured to be separately removably mounted toa headworn article.
 35. The removable electronics system of claim 34,wherein the at least one connector comprises a connector for each of theplurality of electronics modules.
 36. The removable electronics systemof claim 33, further comprising an electrical conductor extendingbetween at least two electronics modules.
 37. The removable electronicssystem of claim 29, further comprising an electrical conductorconfigured to be embedded into or mounted onto a headworn article. 38.The removable electronics system of claim 29, wherein the usercommunication component comprises at least one of a speaker and amicrophone.
 39. The removable electronics system of claim 29, whereinthe at least one electronics module comprises a movable arm on which theuser communication component is positioned.
 40. The removableelectronics system of claim 29, wherein at least one of the incoming andoutgoing signals comprise images.